Paella Gigante kicks off ‘Flavors of the Philippines 2017’
Flavors of the Philippines, the month-long nationwide gastronomic food event, officially started with Paella Gigante — the giant paella that was showcased at Greenbelt 3 recently. The dish was prepared by some 50 chefs, culinary students and staff of the Philippine Young Chefs Club (PYCC).
Flavors of the Philippines is one of three principal events of Madrid Fusion Manila, the Asian edition of international gastronomy festival Madrid Fusion. Organized by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), Madrid Fusion has three components: Flavors of the Philippines, which highlights regional specialties, and is ongoing until April 30; the International Gastronomy Congress, which brings together the world’s most renowned chefs under one roof; and Fusion Manila International Gastronomy Expo, a food and beverage fair that showcases the world’s best culinary exports, ingredients, delicacies, and new foodstuffs.
“We are bringing Flavors of the Philippines out in the open as a major event,” said Tourism director IV Verna CovarBuensuceso. “We will be bringing in more people, more partners into an expanded Flavors of the Philippines to better highlight the regional delights of the country, including the new takes and approaches on these regional culinary selections.”
SPECTACULAR PAELLA
Now in its fifth year, the Giant Paella cook-off also aims to raise funds for the benefit of Sociedad Española de Beneficencia (SEB).
Chef Mikel Arriet of the PYCC, who headed the creation of the paella, along with chef Rolando Laudico, said that the most challenging part of cooking any paella, especially one with the size of more than 1,000 servings, is maintaining uniform heat throughout the giant paellera.
“The Paella Gigante is only fitting as the first event for Flavors of the Philippines because paella is a festive food; it is also spectacular to prepare at this level,” said Arriet, who is operations head of a resort-hotel in Tagaytay City. “Also, paella is one of the dishes shared by the Philippines and Spain.”
About 100 kgs of rice were put into the paella, along with 60 kilos of chicken and squid, 25 kgs of chorizo, 5 kilos of bell pepper, onions and garlic, and mixed with about 210 liters of stock seasoned with saffron, salt and other spices.
“What I enjoyed the most about this event is that we are all friends doing one big task together, this is the most important thing,” he added. “The challenge, as you can see, with the huge pan — compared to cooking regular paella on a regular gas stove that you can control or switch off — we need the right amount of fire and heat to cook the paella, and once it’s done we need to put the fire out. The fire for me is the most challenging.”